Caelyn Pender
Bay Area News Group
(TNS)
A pile of rubble in downtown San Jose caught fire Tuesday morning — five months after a separate fire burned down the two abandoned Victorian homes that became the scorched remains that were slated for removal the day of the fire.
The fire has been knocked down but continues to smolder, the San Jose Fire Department said.
The second-alarm fire broke out on the 100 block of N. 4th Street, officials said on X. The blaze was called in around 9:49 a.m.
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The debris pile that caught fire was the remains of two adjacent buildings that had been bulldozed, according to firefighters. SJFD initially said that the structures had been bulldozed today but later clarified that they had been bulldozed in recent months.
The two structures, located at 146 North Fourth Street and 152 North Fourth Street, collapsed due to the March fire. The remaining scorched debris was slated for removal Tuesday morning, officials said.
Before the March blaze, San Jose officials were alarmed by the blighted conditions and code violations found in the abandoned homes. In November 2023, the city filed a lawsuit with the Santa Clara County Superior Court against the LLC that had owned the houses since 2013. The group had proposed a 23-story student housing tower on the lot, according to city planning documents.
The fire prompted evacuations of a nearby residence and impacted traffic on St. John Street and St. James Street. The evacuated residence suffered moderate external damage but no internal damage, and the residents will be allowed to return, SJFD said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, officials said. There is not yet a damage estimate.
Check back for updates.
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